Bill Barron rides for Senate Seat

On October 28, 2011, Bill Barron, Utah group leader for the Citizens Climate Lobby, declared that he was running against Incumbent Senator Orrin Hatch for his senatorial seat. Bill made his declaration in front of about 100 people at the Salt Lake City Bioneers Conference at Westminster College gathered to hear Tim DeChristopher’s acceptance letter for Bioneer of the Year and Nogie King’s “The Currency of Connection” presentation.​“We cannot wait for others to lead for us,” says Bill.

Bill is looking to address the issue of carbon emissions and supports a “Carbon Fee and Dividend Plan” that charges a fee at the point of entry in the economy for all fossil fuels. That fee is then distributed as a dividend to help families defray the cost of fossil fuels while the country moves to cheaper alternatives.

“It allows the economy to make the transition [to renewable energy], to grow and to make jobs,” says Barron.Barron sees the plan as a “systemic solution” for the change that needs to happen to prevent further degradation of the environment.

“I’m standing up for what I believe is critical,” says Barron, “for how we leave the future for our kids.”

Barron says that he is committed to supporting clean energy and reducing emissions in a direct and transparent way.“It’s a human issue,” says Barron. “I believe that we need to do things on behalf of our world.”

Unsure whether to run as a Democrat or Independent, Bill and Campaign Consultant Sam Schmidt are preparing for both possibilities.

“There’s a lot of good reasons for both,” says Schmidt. A third party candidate will get to run all the way through the end of the election while a democrat could raise the “Carbon Fee and Dividend Plan” issue within the party itself.

This article was originally posted at examiner.com as 2 separate articles. Links updated August 2016.

Sept. 7 to 21, 2016, Bill Barron will be biking and hiking across Utah to raise awareness of his campaign and the Carbon Fee and Dividend platform.